buckytom, thank you very much for your clarification, I think you have some very valid points. You are one of the fortunate few to live in NY, where I understand the immigrants stay close to their roots and that means food too. I'm sorry you were told to um...buzz off. That was rude and uncalled for.

I have travelled through many of the States, and have found food that is good and bad. The one thing that remains constant is wherever you go, you are served a lot of it. So you hope like heck you got a good 'er!

To return to the original point of this thread, allow me to reiterate that what GB is looking for is information about what other countries do well and that the US hasn't really grasped. The baked beans is one example, are there others?

My question, related to what has been said, is what the heck is with Canadian bacon? In Canada we call it "back bacon" and to me, it tastes very different here than in the US. Less cured perhaps? More like a very lean and smoky ham in Canada. Can anyone tell me how things are done with this product there?

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__________________You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it. Robin Williams Alix

As far as Canadian vs US bacon goes, I believe U bacon is cut from the side and the Canadian version, and usually the UK one I have found, is cut from the loin.

We have the side bacon here too. The back bacon (or Canadian bacon as you call it in the US) is what I am talking about. And to me, it tastes different south of the border, just wondering what the curing process is there, and if that accounts for the difference in taste.

__________________You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it. Robin Williams Alix

I think the original point of my post was completely misunderstood by a lot of people here. I probably did not explain myself well enough. This was not supposed to be a post about food that the US does not cook well or that other places do better. It was supposed to be about completely missing the point altogether. My example of tea is the only one I was able to think of and maybe it is the only one there is (but I find that hard to believe).

Tea was never intended to be the dust and twigs packed into a little paper bag and thrown into microwaved water. Tea in other parts of the world is an experience. The finest tea leaves are used (not the dust that comes from those leaves). There are steps to take to appreciate the tea. There are tea service sets, snacks that go along with it, even a time of day dedicated to enjoying the tea experience.

That is not to say that there are not great teas to be found in the US or that there are not people here who do not appreciate the tea experience. Of course there are. But for the most part, if you ask for teas in someones home or go to a restaurant and ask for tea you will get a bag of lipton.

Gotcha, GB!! sorry for any part I played in the whole thing! Have to admit, it made for some interesting reading! and you are right about the whole tea thing! I wish I could convince my boss to stop the workday for high tea!LOL!!!

And sometimes, just sometimes, a good hot dog, roasted in an open campfire, while camping with a group of good freinds and family, will taste better than the finest champaigne and French cuisine. Throw in a couple of marshmallows, and some Hershey bars & graham crackers, and you're making great memories and good times.

I hear ya there GW! Nothing beats a freshly-cooked, flame-roasted dog on a bun after a day camping!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronjohn55

As an example, I have friends who run from Guiness (Too Heavy!) when it's actually one of the lightest beers around (That's why it floats on the top of a black and tan). Now, if you don't care for it because of the roasty taste, that's fine - but to see the color, and think it's heavy, that just bugs me.

There are breweries in the US that make world class beers, but in most cases the general public won't even try to go near them. In many ways it's similar to wine in this country. People grow up drinking kool-aid and soda, then try a big red wine, and pronounce "I don't like red wines" as a default judgement, even though there is a spectrum of different flavors still out there.

But the US does have the world beat on one particular culinary contribution...
Slow roasted BBQ! Of course, in typical American style, we can't even decide inside our own borders which BBQ is the best! (See Memphis, Texas, Kansas City, etc...)

John

I'll drink Guiness Stout. It's different, but good! I'll also admit that I don't have much of a wine palate. I'll also offer a tip to those that don't drink a lot of red wine. "Decant" the wine, that is, pour it out of the bottle and into a carafe or something else, and let it sit for 15 - 20 minutes. This allows the tannic acid in the wine (that bitter taste) to oxidize. Once this happens, the wine actually tastes sweeter, IMO.

I completely agree with you about BBQ. As I'm sure you're aware of, many folks in our state simply have no clue about BBQ (at least in my town, they don't). I started smoking pork butts last summer, and my family wents nuts over it, as they couldn't believe something could taste that good. Their idea of BBQ is to get a bunch chicken and cook it on the grill.

Yesterday, my husband went to a German butcher shop in a little farming community up the road. He brought home their homemade brats, bacon and liver sausage. I haven't tasted the brats yet, but the liver sausage was fantastic.
Some of the Italian Americans here make homemade salomeats that are wonderful. And with pancakes, you can't beat Smokey Links. Don't tell me we don't have good sausage in the USA.
As for tea...I drink mine iced, which probably makes a difference, but Lipton or Lousianne are fine with me. And I love my Bud Lite beer. It's just that...light and refreshing.
Daisy has been grossly misinformed about our food. Sure, there are plenty of greasy spoons out there, but there are also plenty of good restaurants.
The USA has more food and healthier food available than anyplace else in the world. Sometimes I think all the bashing comes from "sour grapes".

I have, to a degree, agonized over this thread due to a pm from a friend? asking me to reword my reply. My reply was succinct, polite, honest and keeping with the rules of this forum. It should always be okay to say, I feel insulted/hurt by a response, when done so in a polite manner. I feel I have lost a friend? because I exercised a right to express a polite opinion, as this is a dicussion forum as well as a cooking forum.

Observation: This thread was dormant for about two days, until I apparently, bumped it up by adding a pic of velveeta cheese, as a light hearted funny response. Since that time, when a controversial/negative response is posted, my observation is that anyone who wants to start an argument jumps in and the thread is given new life and continues on. i.e. people returning to reiterate what the post is/was about, pm's from admin explaining what the ignore option is for, comments like don't get emotional, we will watch the thread... Possibly losing a friend over this thread, has made me speak up and say, IN My Opinion, when there is a sign of trouble, it should have been corrected and/or shut down, rather than perpetuate a bad situation, & re re explain it's intentions, and allow it to go on.

Because of the bad feelings here, re this thread, I may be leaving, because it has caused so many bad feelings and cost me a friend, and still continues on. There will always be people that thrive on starting an argument. I am not one of them. Nothing is ALL bad, unless one wants to start an argument and only sees negativity.

PS Case in point - I have suggested forum ideas, and been met with the same person(s) negative combative responses. At this point in time, I do not feel this a positive place to be. Note, this thread is now nearing 60 replys (double what it was before the arguments here ensued). It saddens me, as there are so many people here I like.